Cobble Hill - Summer Goldfinches

Another lovely image from Cobble Hill -  called 'Sunflowers and Goldfinches'

At first I thought all that green may be a bit boring, but in the end I enjoyed every minute of making this one.

I did sort all the pieces with yellow in them out first and did the flowers and birds for a start. Then moved on to sorting the different greens and completing the puzzle.
I don't always go about my puzzling this way, but it sure speeds up the process!

I love all the little details...

Finally I decided to store the edge pieces separately from the rest. I've never done this before and thought I would give it a try. I recently traded a puzzle and it came separated out. It was convenient, but I do like the process of digging through all the puzzle deliciousness, getting familiar with all the shapes and colours of the puzzle while hunting for the edges. So I thought I'd give it a try. The verdict is still out on that...

I am very glad to add this one to my puzzle collection and already look forward to doing it again!

29 Again?!?

Hehehe you know how that one goes, right?

Somehow the expression on this woman's face needed a sentiment like that to go with it! She is from The Queen (4591)  set and the sentiment is from 29 Again (4372)

The current challenge on the  Art Impressions blog is for gingham, which inspired my choice of papers to go with the more vintage style illustration. It all fitted together for me, retro in every way.

On the inside I added a sentiment from yet another Art Impressions set - Spring Chicken (AiCS40) which I stamped on white paper allowing for easy writing of a message. Using the Notebook Edge Die from Your Next Stamp to trim the top of the paper created an informal look.

The card idea came from a video by Maymay on YouTube HERE

Come and join us for gingham fun over at the AiChallenges!

Mama Bear & Cubs Jigsaw Puzzle

Great image right? Cobble Hill  Has really lovely images. I want to buy half of their puzzles (at least! LOL) All their puzzles are 'random cut' which certainly adds to the challenge and the enjoyment for me.

And here it is done - I liked it and didn't care for it all at the same time. Really curious, but I also know I'm not likely to build it again soon...if ever!

What I did LOVE about it is the paint work...I could SMELL the oil paint and the linseed oil! Absolutely loved that. But the putting it together process was meh. At best... but just look at these details...

..and finally Mama Bear and cubs

I'm glad I took these pictures as a reminder of this one as I will trade it for another puzzle given the chance.... and will probably regret it sometime in the future HA!

Cat Lover - Happy Birthday !

I love this image, Cat Love,  by Mo Manning - over at Mo's Digital Pencil. Mo is a first class illustrator and her digital images are a pleasure to work with.

I turned it into a birthday card for a cat-loving friend and used coloured pencils to colour it. Keeping it simple I added a small piece of designer paper and embossed the front of the card for texture. A little piece of organza ribbon wrapped it up nicely. The sentiment is computer generated.

Inside I added a simple birthday greeting on 'note paper' trimmed used  'Notebook Edge Die'  by Your Next Stamp






Finally I added a few paw prints to the envelope (stamps by Penny Black)

I'm entering my card for Challenge 282 over at Mo's Digital Pencil Blog



Cat Love - Mo's digital Pencil

Making Pictures : Jigsaw Puzzles

I like to make pictures. Now matter how I go about it. As long as I get to make pictures!

Jigsaw Puzzles has been one way for me to do that from a very young age. Being the youngest of 4 kids : by the time I came along there was already a few jigsaws knocking about the house so I just joined right in. Many a wonderful warm sunny afternoon was spent with the family, doing a puzzle around the table while listening to a radio broadcast of some or other rugby match. Wonderful memories of deep joy and real belonging. And whenever I was sick in bed, as soon as I was feeling better the first thing I would do is build a puzzle!

I've never lost my love for jigsaws even if I did not do that many while the boys were young. I simply did not see the need to struggle to keep very curious boys out of a box of fascinating little pieces of multicoloured cardboard! As soon as they got the 'no, don't touch that!' idea though, I was right back at it!

I still have jigsaws dating from the 1950's in my closet and I'll be sure to show you those one day, but for now let's jump right in where I am right now, with the one I completed a couple days ago -

I received it as a gift for Christmas last year. One of 2 Christmas gifts of jigsaw puzzles. Ha! My family knows me...

This is the first double sided puzzle in my collection and initially I thought 'hmmm...only 500 pieces. Shouldn't be too bad especially since the one side is glossy while the other side is more mat, so that telling them apart is easy.' Then I started to build it. Let's just say it is not as easy as it looks. Great fun though and a super challenge, especially as one gets used to all the little nuances in the colours.

Just after Christmas I build the glossy side...

But before I could take a picture...this happened...sigh...LOL

So last week I did the other side with the many small pots of plants.

Definitely a jigsaw to do again and again!

Here's a picture of the bottom of the box with all the details in case you are interested to hunt this one down.

Tweet Wishes!

I cannot believe it's been 2 months since I last posted. Not that I have been idle...just have not gotten round to posting! Yikes!

But here goes...Tweet Wishes for a friend.
I'm entering my card for the Art Impressions Challenge 259 'Shaker Cards'

Edited to add: So happy to have won Top Spot with this card! Thank you AI!

Laying flat with the shaker bits all over... The shaker contains sequence as well as music note and bird punchies.

And standing up to show the view through the cut out window shaker to the inside of the card. 

I used an embossing folder to create the woodgrain texture which I then stained with Tea Dye Distress Ink to accentuate the raised areas. The stamped images are from the Art Impressions Floral Birdhouse Popcard .4946 set,which also contains the sentiment and butterfly stamps. It is adorable!

I added a few white die cut sprigs to complete the picture and sprinkled more colourful sequence all around.

And inside : I used a blue card base which I blended with Distress Inks (Broken China and Salty Ocean) and spritzed with water for a more interesting look.

I'm entering this card for the Art Impressions 'Shaker Cards' Challenge 259

I used Art Impressions Floral Birdhouse Popcard 4946 for my card

Come and join us...there's a few days left still!

Hanging Out With Friends

We spend a lovely few hours with friends just hanging out at the lake. It was cool, but not cold, and oh so beautiful!
I must add that I have never seen the levels on that lake as low as this...

I used Cathy Krenek's Country Roads Bundle for my page. Cathy has just the kit and it's components separately, available in the store. No need to buy the whole bundle.

Also...head on over to Cathy's blog for some freebies...HERE